Girlish Boy and the Masked Devil of the Mist
by Shigehisa
Summary: Zabuza picks up a scrawny little kid who has been sitting in the snow.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters pertaining to said animation series.

The Girlish Boy and the Masked Devil of the Mist 

_Zabuza's POV_

* * *

There he is, sitting alone in the moonlight. The boy with the rumoured bloodline limit. Or girl, whatever. I can't tell.

"Come with me."

And so he did. Or she. As obedient as a bunny. Really, little kids' minds are easy to brainwash.

"What do your folks call you?"

"Haku, Mister -"

"Zabuza. Momochi Zabuza. You are to follow me wherever I go, all right? And you must be obedient or else I'll kill you."

"Yes, Zabuza-san."

He doesn't seem scared of me, unlike the fat kid down the street where I used to live. Hmph. Not very entertaining. And why does his parents call him a name that is neither male nor female? I admit that I still cannot tell his or her gender and my pride is too big for me to voice it out.

He looked very ill and frail. Who wouldn't be, after sitting in the snow for God knows how long in rags? I felt his forehead and there seemed to be a fever. Soon, he collapsed onto the ground. Maybe he has got hypothermia and frostbites.

Being left with the obvious choice, I picked him up and walked on to the place I now live. Looking at the scrawny kid's face again, I thought he might be a girl. Then again, his voice sounded slightly boyish. I wonder if I should check him to confirm my assumptions. But I dismissed the idea in case it turns out otherwise. Then I would be accused of being a paedophile.


	2. Chapter 2

_(Back home)_

I wiped his face with a warm towel and placed on his head a cold one, then removed the leather collar and chains on his neck and limbs. Damn, is this really worth it? Just for that bloodline ability in this skinny, dying kid? Not one person is worth being cared for by me. Unless he or she has a bloodline limit I could use, of course. Then he awakened while I was wringing the towel dry and stared at me. "Zabuza-san … this is …" The clueless kid looked around the small place I call my temporary home.

"This is where you will stay for the time being," I began, "as I train you to use your abilities."

"My abilities?"

"That special things you can do that other people can't."

"I think I remember something …"

"Ever heard of Demonic Ice Mirrors?"

"No, Zabuza-san, I'm afraid not …"

"Then you will learn. You'd better be worth my time."

"Yes, Zabuza-san! I will learn everything you want me to learn."

_How adorable_, I thought. Well, back to track. I must start to think up of a training regime or something …

I looked at the kid again. Is there something I forgot to do? Or forgot to give? Oh yes. He seemed hungry. I'd better feed the rabbit or it'll die on me.

"Thank you, Zabuza-san," He said, and started on his bread.

"It's late. Go to sleep on that bed after you're done."


	3. Chapter 3

_(5 minutes later)_

I was sitting by him, polishing my weapon, which is a gigantic cleaver and secretly watching his movements from the corner of my eye. After he ate he washed the plate and wiped it dry. And despite still being a little ill, he washed all the glasses in the sink as well, and even scrubbed the sink itself (There were no plates in the sink because I can't cook and thus hardly eat at home). Then he patted his wet little hands dry on his torn, shall I say, shirt. After that he finally noticed me looking at him and smiled. Oh, the innocence of a kid.

"All right, go and have a rest. We have to wake up early tomorrow."

"But, Zabuza-san, where will you sleep then?"

"It doesn't matter. Don't ask anymore. Go."

_(30 minutes later)_

After removing the bandages that cover half my facial features from my face, I lay awake on the straw mat on the floor near where Haku is sleeping, trying to incorporate a little kid into my life. I am an adult used to solitude, how should I go about a kid with a high potential of becoming a formidable, unrivalled shinobi? Did I make a mistake in picking him up from the snowy streets? After all, this kid has nothing but a powerful bloodline limit. Which is precisely why it's like finding a big piece of unpolished diamond that everybody treats as glass. I weighed the pros and cons and found out that there is no harm in trying to utilize him to the fullest, just that it would be rather hard work in the beginning.

_(Zabuza falling asleep at last)_

I feel a small, unfamiliar hand pulling on mine. It's that girlish boy I brought home.

"Zabuza-san, I felt the floor with my feet just now and it was so cold! Please sleep on the bed with me. It's okay, my dad used sleep next to me too."

Innocent, clueless kid with the personality of a rabbit. It _was_ getting cold, and I didn't want to decline Haku's thoughtful offer, so I agreed.

Half an hour passed like half a day. It was terrible trying to get a proper sleep as I was made to keep my hands to myself. I mean literally. You see, I was very used to having the bed to myself so my arms would land on this empty part of the bed, sometimes on the other empty part. Now there is another body, although small, occupying my favourite empty space. If you still do not get what I'm trying to say, then I shall not explain further. Anyway it is not right to let your hands go free on someone else you are not close with. I confess that I still do not know Haku's gender. I guess I should just stay a few inches away from him (right now I'm still assuming he's a boy, but could not safely confirm) lest I get accused of being a paedophile.

But now what. Haku had _automatically_ rolled into my chest. Oh well. It's normal to reach for warmth and security when it's just beside you. He's still shivering a little, so maybe it's okay if I put my arm around him a bit.

The painful fingers of the sun jabbed my eyes. Ugh, it's morning already? I haven't thought of a way to train him yet. What shall we do today?

I think I just remembered something. _Darn_! I had let a dirty kid sleep beside me, maul at my shirt and steal my pillow for a whole night! I should have made him _bathe_ yesterday! How can I forget!

Haku turned and smiled at me. "Good morning, Zabuza-san. You look quite nice without covering your face," he said, getting up.

"Quit being a nosey parker," I snapped. "And go take a bath."


	4. Chapter 4

I found myself washing the little kid's hair. Luckily his back was facing me, I'm not really used to this kind of thing …

_(A while ago)_

"_Want to take a bath together? Zabuza-san!"_

"_Wha-what?"_

"_Come on, my daddy used to do it too."_

What a close father-and-child relationship they share.

I didn't get to see anything during the bath. All he did was sit there and let his hair be washed. Then he rinsed. Then I was out of there when he reached for a towel. All I saw was his back and the hair I was made to wash _("Before I killed my daddy he always washed my hair" he said with a sad look which caused me to volunteer to help do what his father used to do … big mistake …)_. It's hard to say 'no' to this kid …

When he changed back into his tattered clothes, I realized he needed new ones. So I had to get a decent set somehow, and when he received it, the poor, deprived scrawny kid wouldn't stop smiling for hours.

I looked at the contentedness that was painted all over the boy's face. He was so pure, so simple. I then knew that I wanted to make this kid into a great shinobi. In turn he will thank me for helping to make him into a valuable person by letting me use him like a tool. I told that to him over dinner at a shady-looking inn during the evening. He does not seem to be frightened, instead he broke into one of his 'all right then' smiles. I hada n urge to pinch his cheeks.

We shared the bed again at night. Haku seems to be awake, so I asked, "Haku, I am living a dangerous life, and you will be following me for a long time. "Are you afraid?"

He turned over and faced me. "Zabuza-san is my saviour. If he is not afraid, then I will not be." His reply was straightforward and satisfying. "That's the way it should be," I remarked, and ruffled his ebony hair lightly.

* * *

Almost a month had passed. We got along well as he was quiet and docile as a rabbit - great to take along on journeys, because rabbits don't require much attention ... anyway, I was talking about his strengths. Haku knew more about his abilities and was improving rather fast with the basic shinobi training.He is a child prodigy. He was incredibly intelligent and extremely observant, plus he was rather sharp in figuring things out. He, if pushed, is capable to kill an adult with his abilities, like he did with his father. But he needs to be stronger in order to deal with ninjas like me. In future, we will be on the run from figures like hunter-nins. 

Which is why I'm going to train him to be a competent hunter-nin.


	5. Chapter 5

Haku has a habit of tugging my shirt at night. It's uncomfortable and annoying sometimes, because I want to turn in bed and his grip is tight. I remember one night he drooled a little on my pillow. But he still looked rather lovely. The next night I found the pillow gone, and Haku said he washed it. 'Wash' as in dumping the whole thing in hot water so that the insides are all weird and clumpy. I threw it away and Haku couldn't stop feeling apologetic for doing such a dumb thing. But still he gets no punishment. He slept on my arm instead. Then the next morning my arm would feel numb from the weight. Haku didn't really realize this but promised that he would get another pillow. I hope he doesn't try to make another one. A reason I dislike children is because of their 'inventive' minds.

-

A year and a half had passed. With two failed assassinations on the Mizukage, the life I'm living had become an unstable one, with countless hunter-nins refusing to get off my back. Had the assassination been successful, things would have been much smoother. But the present circumstances forced me to leave this place, putting me into a dilemma.

Should I bring Haku along?

I did not tell him anything. When I woke up, I saw him training hard. Haku had already learnt how to create needles from surrounding water, but he wasn't very good at controlling. He had made a few holes in my upper arm and pinned my shirt to the wall. By this time I was quite sure he was a boy (I had no chance to find out, seriously), but a girl can also behave like this, you never know …

He wanted very much to produce a water clone, so I showed him. His water clone looked like a lump of … something lumpy. During dinner he was still bitter about a water clone not coming up to scratch, and asked me whether I would leave him in a faraway land if he couldn't produce a water clone.

Naturally, I assured this fool that I wouldn't. He gave me his irritating smile and promised that he would produce a good water clone in a few days' time.

I hope he doesn't get a girlfriend. He would get bullied. But he does have a weird pet rabbit somewhere in the house … it seems to be afraid of me.

Then I decided to break the news to him. I didn't expect a satisfactory answer that he always gave. But I hoped that he would, though.

And he did.

"_Please let me stay by your side and use me as your tool, Zabuza-san."_

"_Good kid."_

Soon we were on our way to live a fugitive's life. We passed by a few people who seemed to have something to say to us.

A lady left a very 'reactive' comment as she passed.

"What a beautiful daughter you have, Sir."

It made me and Haku stare at each other for a full awkward second. Haku surely did not have in mind what _I_ had.

"What did that lady say?"

"That you are a beautiful girl."

"Can't she tell that I'm a boy …"

With that, Haku and I walked on. I did not say a thing. I just took it as it was.

-

Then a pale-looking boy with silver hair ran towards us with a sharp object in hand.

"Are you from the Village of the Mist?" He asked.

Although he is only a boy about Haku's age, I held the handle of my weapon and told him that we are not. Then he apologized and went on his way.

I continued on, and then noticed Haku looking at the pale boy.

"Haku?"

"No, it's nothing, Zabuza-san."

I had a rough idea of what he was thinking. The similarity between that boy and the Haku when I first saw him was uncanny.

"We don't have time to be standing around. Hurry." I said, walking further. Haku quickly caught up, but seemed to be in thought.

Maybe it's a good thing I picked this scrawny brat off the streets …


End file.
